Countries and Capitals of the UK: Free KS1 Geography Worksheet

What is on the worksheet

One clear, friendly outline map of the United Kingdom, with the four countries shown as separate regions divided by bold lines. A small dot marks roughly where each capital city sits. There is a word bank to support early readers, and write-on lines for the four country names and their four capital cities.

The map has bold, even outlines and plenty of open sea around it, so it is comfortable for small hands to colour and a pleasure to display afterwards. Children can give each country its own colour, which also helps them see that the UK is made up of four distinct parts.

How to use it at home or in the classroom

Print the worksheet, or open it on a tablet and print from there. Start by colouring each of the four countries a different colour, there are no wrong colours, which is a relaxed, confidence-building way in.

Then look at the map together. Help your child name each country and find the dot that marks its capital city, then write the answers on the lines using the word bank. For younger children, read the word bank aloud and let them match the words. In class it works well as a starter for a topic on the UK, or as a quick recap before moving on to maps, oceans and the wider world.

What your child will learn

By the end of the activity, your child should be able to name the four countries of the United Kingdom and match each one to its capital city: London is the capital of England, Edinburgh of Scotland, Cardiff of Wales and Belfast of Northern Ireland.

They will also begin to understand that the UK is a single country made up of four parts, and that it is an island nation surrounded by sea. This early locational knowledge is one of the first building blocks of primary geography and a great foundation for later work on continents, oceans and maps.

A note for teachers

This worksheet supports the Key Stage 1 geography programme of study for locational knowledge, specifically naming and locating the four countries and capital cities of the United Kingdom and its surrounding seas. It works as a quick assessment of recall and pairs well with a class map, a globe, or an atlas.

A note on accuracy worth sharing with pupils: the UK's surrounding seas include the North Sea, the Irish Sea, the English Channel and the Celtic Sea, with the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The map shows the island of Ireland too, but only Northern Ireland is part of the UK. There is no log-in, no watermark and no catch, you are welcome to print copies for your class and to link to this page from your school website or newsletter.

Frequently asked questions